Last Updated : 01 Mar 2014
A preposition is a word which is usually placed before a noun or pronoun to show the latter’s relation to some word in the sentence.
By definition, a preposition is placed before a word ("prepositioned") to indicate the word’s meaning within the context of the sentence
|of the world||for a friend||at a hotel|
Some Common Prepositions:
|He walked||across||the forest|
As its name tells us, a preposition is normally ‘placed before’ a noun phrase or some other element. The preposition + noun phrase together form a PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE.
Position of prepositions in different kinds of sentence:
|Who is she working for?|
|She’s working for a friend|
In the first example shows the preposition at the end of the sentence, and the second example shows the preposition in its usual position, at the front of its noun phrase.
Many word forms which are prespositions are also adverbs. These adverbs are called Prepositonal Adverbs. Most of them are adverbs of place.
Some Common Prepositional Adverbs:
Prepositions are usually in front of a noun phrase, whereas prepositional adverbs usually stand alone, wihtout a following noun phrase.
|Preposition||She stayed in the house|
|Adverb||She stayed in|
|Preposition||The guests were standing around the room|
|Preposition||The guests were standing around|
Prepositional adverbs are always stressed. Prepositions are frequently unstressed.
We use the term prepositional verb for an IDIOM made up of verb + preposition.
|add to||care for||look for|
|agree with||consent to||pay for|
|aim at / for||deal with||pray for|
|allow for||decide on||refer to|
|apply for||hope for||rely on|
|approve of||insist on||run for|
|ask for||listen to||stand for|
|attend to||live on||take after|
|believe in||long for||take to|
|belong to||look after||wish for|
|call for / on||look at|
The verb and preposition express a single idea.
|He takes after his grandfather (resembles)|
|We have asked for help (request)|
|I have to look after the house (take care of)|
The verb and preposition are often together at the end of a sentence
|I do not know who this book belongs to|
|We scarcely have enough to live on|
|Have the new chairs been paid for?|
Kinds of Prepositions
|Simple Prepositions||Compound Prepositions||Phrasal Prepositions|
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